Class Favorites: Movie Rank Part 2
This part shows that it wasn't just Sandra Bullock year, but Degrassi Alumni's year too.
Check out Part 1 (HERE)
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24. Good Dick (2008) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW/CW
The man who runs the counter at the video store has taken interest in one particular patron. Does he take an extended interest in all his customers? No, but this one has piqued his interest so much so, to the point where his new goal is figuring out who she is outside of the video store.
This was the first "new" movie I watched in 2025 and after it was over, I didn't even log it on Letterboxed. 1) because it was a WTF did I just watch of a movie and 2) because I was a little embarrassed to put that I watched the movie out in the open like that. I try to push back on self-inflicted shame, but this one got me. Why you ask?
You see I'm no stranger to messed up movies, with messed up people and messed up lives and either I find them or they find me. This film has that late 2000's indie film vibe I mention loving all the time and that's what helped me not completely hate it at the end of the day. Like I hate it (the movie) but I'm also weirdly here for it. It's a weird 2008 indie film that tries to talk about trauma and addiction/hyper-sexuality, among other things, but it really just wants to be an indie film. It gives the main characters no names to be weird and mysterious and pushes boundaries in the name of letting a stranger "love" you. Again this movie is messed up and if you're looking for a WTF and can sit through some triggers, then see for yourself.
25. Endless Love (2014) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
He looks like he must be from the wrong side of the tracks, so that means she must be from the right side. Her parents belief in this level of class means that their new relationship is not "appropriate," but young love says otherwise or rather fights that notion.
Honestly part of me feels like I'd seen this one before, but since I couldn't say for certain, I counted it as a new watch. I probably also felt like I'd seen it before because it was very predictable. This story has been told a million and more times than one can reasonably count, they just added a 2010's air to it. It's an easy watch, either you'll think it's not that bad or this type of romantic film was never your thing in the first place.
26. How To Fall In Love (2012) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
What happens when you hire a friend who just so happens to be your crush from high school, instead of a professional to be your dating coach, cause she wants to help? The possibilities are endless.
Another movie I can't seem to find my notes on. What I can say off the top of my head though, is that I remember it being a low stakes and cute enough. Also in what world is Eric Mabius (the main character) the unattractive nerd? They did try and turn up his awkward to help him in that regard, but for the millionth time, glasses don't equal not attractive. Yes this is another predictable romantic comedy, but if you eat these things like candy, it's gonna be sweet enough. And compared to many other things I watched this year, I ain't mad at it.
27. The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them ⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW/CW
A couple struggles to connect to one another after a few traumatic events take place in their lives.
I didn't get it. I don't want to say the thing that happened to them, cause part of me feels like that's a spoiler, (even though many blurbs will just tell you up front) however we spend the whole movie skirting around the subject, but it is THE subject. They seem burdened by one another. Or one half is burdened and the other wants to fit but doesn't understand how. I also don't get why this is called one of the most romantic movies ever. We do get glimpses of heart and passion, but none of it pulls me like it's the greatest love story I've ever seen. It's not a bad movie, I personally just didn't understand it, nor did I feel the pull.
28. The Spectacular Now - TV Edit (2013) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
CW
You wake up on a strangers lawn after a night out and thus starts an unexpected friendship between the two of you.
The 3 on this one is a light 3, it's actually more like 2.75. I waited so long to watch this movie, like years because I had initially started reading the book first, ended up not getting far and never finished it. To say this movie was a let down would be pretty accurate. Like this is what I waited so long for?! The literal ending was bs and tries to convince us that everything is gonna be okay. One good speech/monologue does not a overall good movie make. To not be so heavy on the film though, the last 20-30 minutes was decent and a TV edit can take away some of the "raw" you get from any story. If you take the chance on it, watch the uncensored version.
Slight CW
Zach's cancer is back and his dreams of making music with his best friend is what he wants to do with whatever times he's got left, that among other high school activities.
Based on a true story.
I feel like it's hard to truly rate/critique these types of movies, especially when they're based off real humans and their life stories. It wasn't a bad movie, it was actually fairly decent, but it feels weird to say that someone's real life felt generic, cause that's not fair. If we separate the two, the film and the real person, it's the Hollywood, tearjerker film that felt generic and that's a fair assessment based on this one falling in line with it's chronically ill troped peers. Again it was alright and I might have cried watching it, it's just another one for the logs at the end of the day though.
Side Comment For Those Who Have Seen It: I don't know much about the real life Zach and if his musical adventures with his best friend were true, but as far as the movie presents things, it was hard to tell where he as a solo artist and them as a duo started and ended.
30. Boot Camp (2024) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
To get away from the people that suck and gain some confidence, a newly graduated teen goes off to a wellness/fitness camp for the summer and finds more than what she showed up for.
This is a New-Adult movie if I've ever seen one, it was also made by Wattpad so I expected nothing less. Parts of it were cute and fun, however so much of the movie felt played and filled with tons of projection. I haven't experienced everything the main character does, but having been in one of those positions before, my brain could see a bit of the melodrama in her, pretty easily. Upon reflection though, we allow the teen to overreact in a situation that feels way worse than the reality. As a woman in her Thirties, I'm still working on my head running wild myself. This whole story is a recreation of Bridget in The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants with Bridget and her soccer camp counselor, we just take away the soccer and let this girl lean into her fantasy a little more. It's an okay movie and if you like Wattpad stories, than this might be slightly better than what you're used to getting.
Side Comment: Can we stop pairing ambiguously aged guys with, in this case a freshly 18 year old women, to make him seem wiser than he is. She just graduated high school and they made him seem like he's so much older. He can legally drink, but we never officially get his age and I believe there's reason for that. I get that he's supposed to be a mentor to her and that's why they want him to seem "wise," but you can just say he's 21 and take away the guessing game for the audience so no one has to wonder if the ick is valid or not.
31. Brave New Girl (2004) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A local Texas star gets the opportunity to leave the nest and attend a big arts and music college, but can she truly break free from what's holding her back?
July's Movie of The Month!
Let's just say I wasn't impressed. This felt like all the other "talent" dream movies: Save The Last Dance, Step Up, Raise Your Voice (which also came out in 2004) etc... almost bar for bar and didn't really offer anything different. They just dropped the girl in college and made everyone meaner. The ending was also super cut and dry. Overall it was fine, but nothing special. PS: She chose the wrong dude lol.
32. Z-0-M-B-I-E-S (2018) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Segregation is a live and well in this town where the Zombies aren't allowed in regular society. To start to bridge that gap, they finally allow the green "monsters" to go to High School with the humans, you know as long as they stay in the basement and eat lunch by themselves.
I'll start by saying thought that the movie wasn't that bad. I know it's a Zombie segregation, sports musical and that alone should make us all laugh and say nope, but it's still a Disney Channel Original Movie and since it's apart of the collection, it gets at least one watch. The musical aspect is where I started to get lost, same with any musical that I wasn't expecting to be as such. The numbers were decent though and were your classic Disney Pop. They personally didn't hit for me, but they weren't terrible. I can see why someone far younger than me would be so into this movie and rate it high and sing along to every word; there has to be some reason it's on it's 4th sequel. I don't know why we need that many movies to say that racism is bad and needs to be corrected, but they found a way.
All that said, the 3 is way too forgiving, it should be way lower as there are many reasons to not give any niceties to this film. We've all seen at least one meme about something silly ending racism and this movie is the personification of that meme. It takes the insecurity of a young, white, cheerleader to make some folks "get it." Again the movie is filled with problems and doesn't do the work I don't even think it's claimed to. Obviously this isn't my favorite DCOM of the "new class," but I won't know it's the worst until I've watched them all lol, so we'll have to wait and see. Let's just say it's rated on a curve.
Side Note: I'll watch any Disney Channel Original Movie once, it's in my rule book, however Milo Manheim (The main Zombie) being a zionist makes me even less excited to continue on in the series, than I was before I knew that information.
33. Sweet 16: The Movie (2007) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
2 best friends decide to plan the ultimate Sweet 16 party together, but the politics of High School happen and that friendship is tested.
The even more fictional version of MTV's hit reality show My Super Sweet 16. Again the 3 is far too generous, but it keeps it's score because it had the nostalgia factor and included the iconic Hills trailers before the movie even started which successfully set my mood. Now beyond those things, it wasn't good. It wasn't even better than an actual episode of Sweet 16. If I hadn't broken the watch up into 2 sittings though, it might have fared better at the end. I was so into the first half and getting life, but by the end of the whole thing I wasn't feeling it as much. It seemed super cut and paste and overly formulaic, especially with that ending. Also using Katrina/natural disaster victims to prove to some privileged teens that their fight is trivial, is hella gross to me. I know it's supposed to be that way, cheap and formulaic, but it came across as more parody, than homage. Still had an overall good time though and I think it's worth the watch for the 2010's MTV vibes alone.
34. Taking The Fall (2021) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tyler's friends set up a small college reunion for him, after his release from a 6 year prison stay and naturally feelings start to fly.
I wanted this movie to be more "profound" than it actually was. It ended up being a low budget reunion movie, that didn't get to where it wanted to go. Although his friends are for sure assholes, multiple answers about life are held true at once and the main character isn't necessarily right, even if his feelings are valid. I watched it because it has a Degrassi Alum (Munro Chambers) and I don't blame you if that's the reason you decide give it a chance as well.
35. High Fidelity (2000) ⭐️⭐️ 1/2
A record store owner who just got broken up with is now re-telling the tale of his past, most relevant heartbreaks and why it didn't work out with them and how they relate to this one.
August's Movie of The Month!
It is very clear from jump that we (the audience) don't like this dude and part of me feels like we had to suffer through his bs, just so we could make it to a somewhat decent ending. His whole shtick was "women suck, but sometimes I'm not great either" and I can only sit through so much of that kind of whining and begging. Now to be fair, I think this one deserves a rewatch. I watched it in multiple sittings and wasn't completely focused during them, so that probably aided in how much I didn't like the movie. I don't think it's gonna get much more likeable, but I really expected to like this one and am bummed that I didn't.
36. Dateless To Dangerous: My Son's Secret Life (2025) ⭐️⭐️ 1/2
TW/CW
What turns out to be public humiliation during a homecoming proposal, leads Miles down the path of an incel that his sister and mom have to now deal with.
Apparently I did in fact watch a 2025 movie, Letterboxed just thought that 2 and a half stars wasn't a high enough rating for it to be included in my Wrapped for them or it needed another film to rank it against.
An incel (as far as I know) didn't make this movie, but it is a movie about an incel and how he got there. The movie set you up to know that this boy is headed down one scary path with their definition of an what an incel is on screen before the movie even begins. It also featured disclaimers and trigger warnings to help drive that point home. As it progressed, I liked how it highlighted how fast these ideas can be introduce and thus implemented, however it felt like it's job was to hit all the points/signs like a checkbox. Something I realized though, was that I blamed the story for something that actually is a big part of the reality for these boys/men. Even though the men in his life failed him, he still blamed the girls/women and made all of his actions after being rejected their fault and that is a huge common occurrence. Outside of the obvious I think I rated this one so low because I'm not sure what the point was/is, besides feeling like a dark after school special and wondering if any of it is actually helpful. Some family is gonna sit down to watch this film like a Dar Mahn video and use it as a great conversation starter, so there's that at least. Not gonna lie though, this would have hit as a 2 part Degrassi special and that's not just because Stephen Brogren (Snake) directed it, but because if it could "go there" it would definitely try.
37. Someone Like You (2024) ⭐️⭐️ 1/2
TW/CW
Dawson just lost his best friend London and on that healing journey, he discovers and then sets out to find her separated before birth, embryo twin.
This movies was so manipulative and selfish and pro-life, in very not nice or forgiving ways. They did not tread carefully, nor did they handle the situation with care, they just wanted to tell a story where they get to replace the atheist in these character's lives with someone who fit in the spaces where his best friend couldn't. It may have had a few "bright" moments, but they all got overshadowed by the rest of it. I'll try a lot of movies once, but I don't recommend everyone play that game, especially not for this one.
38. Sorority Surrogate (2014) ⭐️⭐️ 1/2
When the family who's baby you're carrying suddenly passes away, things and people you don't expect show up do and start to get a little scary.
I promise you not all Degrassi Alumni films are bad, this one just happened to also be a Lifetime Movie lol. I love when the cast get together for other things, so chances are almost always taken. (Note: it was also just a coincidence that this many Alumi movies were all ranked together.) It's wasn't a good movie, the cast just did a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of keeping me going, more than the movie itself did. They also set the movie up to be predictable from the start, which would only work if the ending didn't turn out to be the way we all knew it would. Not great, but not any more trash than I would consider any other Lifetime movie. Add it to your list.
39. Fallen ll: The Journey (2007) ⭐️⭐️ 1/2
CW
Part 2 in the 3 part Fallen mini-movie series following a Nephilim (half human/half angel) named Aaron, who is claimed to be "The Redeemer" of folks on earth.
Like I said a few years back when I watched the first installment in the series, this is not a movie for folks who are weary or just not okay with "biblical" stories or themes being altered and exaggerated. (And specifically not in a "man is imperfect" kind of way.) I say that due to the religious people in my life who would find great pause in a story like this. Given the time it was released and the network it was released on though, I think certain types of religious teens from that time would eat this thing up. It's a teen "Hollywood" drama with biblical themes, some kid could convince their parents it's not harmful. As for teenage me, I couldn't have and for adult me it could have gotten a 3 if it wasn't lacking something that I couldn't figure out. Besides that though, a higher rating would have been a stretch due to my own little religious biases.
40. Fallen lll: The Destiny ⭐️⭐️ 1/2
CW
Part 3 in the 3 part Fallen mini-movie series following a Nephilim (half human/half angel) named Aaron, who is claimed to be "The Redeemer" of folks on earth.
This finale had a decent enough plot twist, but still couldn't manage more than 2 and a half stars. Still don't think it's for anyone questioning their faith, however it might give certain evangelicals a stronger fight in their game lol. That is if they first accepted this Hollywood version as the truth or something they could use metaphorically. I'm rounding the whole series up to 3 stars for that fact that some parts were "okay," but overall it wasn't good and rather cheesy at times. It does feature a Bryan Cranston though, if that helps in deciding whether to take a shot.
Sam is known as a womanizer and one drunken night he stumbles into a show where the owner gives him a tea that turns him into a woman, to help him learn to respect them.
To state the obvious, this story and the ones its footsteps it tried to follow are rooted in misogyny, that's how they get it to "work." Sam however laid it on so thick it was hard to see past it. It had no subtlety or eased itself into any of it. It was just terrible, more terrible and then comes the realization we all knew was coming. Not all low budget films are bad, but this one had all the connotations of a trash low budget film and lived up to that feeling. The half a star exists because it managed to give me some feels, like I actually believed in the chemistry. I gotta give them points for that incredibly hard task. Not worth the watch, I've seen this story before (my personal favorite, not without it's own faults, is Switch) and think there are better versions. It can be a bad movie night watch though.
42. Just Friends (2005) ⭐️⭐️
CW
A man who was rejected by his best friend and subsequently humiliated in high school, grows up to become a womanizing jerk.
I'd always thought I'd seen this movie before but upon the watch, none of it felt all that familiar, so I treated it as a first time viewing. This was a shitty movie and I think a butt-hurt incel made it. I was not laughing or rooting for anyone. This man made it the world's problem that 10 years ago, a girl didn't return feelings for him by behaving terribly every single day of his life since. Yeah just not good. It did have the monologue speech with feels, but he just sucked so much that it didn't help. Some see this movie as comedic gold, I'm not one of them and that's okay. It's also okay if you watch it and love it, we are just not the same human.
Based on a novel by Lauren Kate.
Luce is sent to a reform school due to the belief that she was involved in someone's death. There she is drawn to two different boys, but can't figure out why and must figure that out and choose who she wants to be with.
Not to be mistaken with the other movies in the list under the same name, with slightly similar themes, that also came out around the same time. (The book for this movie was released in 09 and that Fallen mini-movie series can out in 07.) I guess it was a big time period for biblical themed YA media. Not to fully compare, but this one was worse than the other. The movie felt incomplete and I didn't feel like checking the book to see what, if anything else, happens at the end. I can't even find my notes for this one, so I figure I didn't think it was worth much. A specific type of probably Twilight fan from that era would devour this, but since I was never a fan I can see why this didn't do much for me either.
PS: This was the movie that I thought I was watching back in 2023 when I picked up that Fallen series.
44. He's Not Worth Dying For (2022) ⭐️⭐️
TW/CW
Two teenage girls fall for the same boy and due to his manipulation, take their ire out on each other, often by way of social media.
Talk about being not helpful. I know there are many dangers when it comes to teens and the role that social media plays in their lives, but the way this particular story was told and handled, to me was not it. They made the story far more superficial than I feel like it was supposed to be and took an outlier of a character, overly dramatized her and then everyone else around her. There's no breath in this story. It gave us a bs ending and also never attacked any of these real issues head on. I probably wouldn't even show this one as a PSA. Watch if Lifetiime movies are your thing.
Note: This was apparently based on a real story, so maybe even in their dramatization these characters were more "real" than I gave them credit for.
45. The Life I Cannot Remember (2024) ⭐️⭐️
TW/CW
A woman who was now has amnesia from an accident she doesn't remember, is recovering and attempting find out who's really who in her life and what really happened that night.
Oh it was as bad as it sounds. Like I said before, I love a good memory loss romance, but this wasn't good and it wasn't a romance. The poster also gave away the whole story or rather told us who not to trust from the start. Now this may or may not have anything to do with how bad it was, but I read somewhere once that Krav Maga being referenced is an Israeli dog whistle and sometimes certain things help shoes fit, just sayin.
TW/CW!!!
An Egyptian living in America has been accused of terrorism and abducted after his flight and made to disappear and then tortured for information. His pregnant wife knows something is wrong, so she uses her government connections to find out what happened.
I didn't know how to rate this movie and it made me so uncomfortable that I just placed it at the bottom. This film had a cast that I liked and because I didn't read the description fully, I ended up with an unsettling American propaganda movie and thus creating the bit that I watch war movies when I'm sad. (Just so we're clear, I know all theses films are American propaganda, I'm not that naive.)
Side Note, but Important: Streaming services are know to show you a specific poster if it thinks it's gonna get you to watch a movie. Netflix is know for doing this. I watched this particular film through Hoopla, which I don't think does this manipulative tactic (honestly I think they go basic with their posters) however it does tell me that if I had seen the more salacious, in your face, flag waving poster, I probably would have said no. The poster I saw on Hoopla vs the one I saw on Letterboxd. This has happened to me a few times and I think it's a problem. Not saying a movie can't have multiple posters, but somebody is working the system and I don't like it. They both tell a government, military story, but one is far more heavy handed and brutal with it.
I don't really want to say whether this movie was objectively good or bad in terms of it being a movie, because that's tells us nothing. What I can say though, is that it's an egregious story based on the way America likes to present people they don't like and reduces them to 'terrorists" while acting like we have no blame in any of it. We, as in America, are absolutely the problem and this movie made me think 2 things: 1) we're probably torturing someone right now that "no one" knows about and 2) we are, in the open, abducting people off the streets and denying them due process to this very day. (Fuck Ice if you were curious.) What does a movie like this say about us and why do we in America think it needs to be told? I ask those questions knowing that part of it is white saviorism and the other is making it seem like we're more humane than the other guys who are physically doing the bad thing. I don't see America as the hero in this story, we pull the trigger all the time and I refuse to give us points for attempting to even try to be the bully who says "give it a rest" especially it that request is being asked through a Hollywood movie.
Don't watch this movie, especially now. It does nothing but reaffirm what we all should know, because we it's what happening RIGHT NOW. Even if you like to engage with war/military movies, pick something else.
Whew, we made it through 46 movie reviews and although I'm tired, there's still more Akward Class Favorites to go. Stay tuned!
